Wendy Lam, BSc. (Pharm), MD, FRCPC

Hematologist and Medical Oncologist
Burnaby Hospital Regional Cancer Center
Director, BC Community Oncology Trialists
Burnaby, BC

Dr. Wendy Lam is a hematologist and medical oncologist at the Burnaby Hospital Regional Cancer Centre.

She received her B.Sc (Pharmacy) at Dalhousie University and her MD from University of British Columbia. She then completed her Internal Medicine residency at UBC and Hematology fellowship at McMaster University.

She is the Founding Director of the British Columbia Community Oncology Trialists (BC Cot), which is a collaborative group of oncologists and hematologists involved in clinical research.

Her other interests include education of patients through meeting with patient groups. She has also been instrumental in organizing meetings for continued medical education.

She is Director of the Society of Hematology and Oncology of BC at British Columbia Medical Association.

Barbara Melosky, MD, FRCP(C)

Professor of Medicine, UBC
Medical Oncologist, BC Cancer
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Melosky is a Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and a Medical Oncologist in Vancouver at BC Cancer. She graduated from medical school at the University of Manitoba and did a residency in internal medicine and an oncology fellowship at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Melosky specializes in the field of thoracic malignancy. She sits on the Executive Lung Site Committee for CCTG Canadian Clinical Trials Group.

Her main focus of clinical trials is on EGFR inhibitors; she is published in this area and is considered a national and international expert. Dr. Melosky has chaired the Canadian Lung Cancer Conference for the last 12 years, which is attended by over 350 participants. She chairs and organized the multi-disciplinary Lung Cancer Journal Club three times yearly. She is chair and created the British Columbia Lung Cancer Biobank.

She is also the chairperson of the Colorectal Screening Program of British Columbia and has a special interest in EGFR receptors and management of side effects.

Laurie H. Sehn, MD, MPH

Clinical Professor
Centre for Lymphoid Cancer,
British Columbia Cancer Agency and
University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Laurie Sehn is currently Clinical Professor with the British Columbia Cancer Agency and University of British Columbia, Canada. She has been a medical oncologist and clinical investigator at the BC Cancer Agency since 1998, and is currently the Chair of the Lymphoma Tumour Group. Dr. Sehn graduated from McGill Medical School, Montreal, Canada and received her training in Internal Medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, Columbia University, New York, USA. She was trained in Haematology-Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard University, Boston, and received a Masters of Public Health degree from Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University.

Prior to returning to Canada, she spent a year at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute attending on the Bone Marrow Transplant service. Dr. Sehn is Chair of the medical advisory board for the International Lymphoma Coalition. She has also served as a member of the editorial board of Journal of Clinical Oncology and Leukemia Lymphoma, and is currently an Associate Editor for Blood. Dr. Sehn also serves as co-chair of the Lymphoma Site of the Canadian Cancer Trials Group.

Simon Yu, MD, FRCPC

Hematologist and Medical Oncologist
Burnaby Hospital Regional Cancer Center
Director, BC Community Oncology Trialists
Burnaby, BC

Dr. Simon Yu is a medical oncologist practicing at Burnaby Hospital and Ridge Meadows Hospital in British Columbia.  He completed his internal medicine and medical oncology residency at University of British Columbia and BC Cancer Agency.  His practice consists of almost all solid tumors and select hematologic malignancies.

Ardashes Avanessian MD, FRCPC

Hematologist/ Medical Oncologist
Clinical Assistant Professor UBC
Division of Medical Oncology
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Ardashes Avanessian graduated from the National University of Iran/Tehran in 1987 and completed Internal Medicine training in 1990 that led to specialization in Hematology/Oncology in 1998. Relocating to Toronto in 2001, Dr. Avanessian completed an Oncology Fellowship at Princess Margaret Hospital from 2002 to 2004. Royal College-certified in 2006, he joined the UBC Department of Medicine (2004-2005) and contributed to the BCCA Kamloops Cancer Clinic (2005-2013). Since 2013, he has been a part of the LGH community as a General Hematology and Oncology practitioner with a special interest in lymphoproliferative disorders.

Versha Banerji, MD, FRCPC

Associate Professor
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, MB

Dr. Versha Banerji MD FRCPC obtained her MD and residency training in Internal Medicine and Hematology at the University of Manitoba. She then completed a post-doctoral fellowship in translational research at the Harvard Cancer Centre/ Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Broad Institute of MIT. She is a Senior Scientist at the Paul Albrechtsen CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute, Associate Professor at the University of Manitoba, and a Clinician-Scientist at CancerCare Manitoba. She is the inaugural Director of The Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Clinical Care, Education and Translational Research Unit at the University of Manitoba and CCMB and leads clinical trials and population-based treatment studies locally. She manages a multi-disciplinary research team in clinical, fundamental and translational research. Her own laboratory is evaluating novel therapeutics and the impact on mitochondrial function and metabolism. She is also an inaugural awardee of the University of Manitoba Ignite Grant securing over 2.8 Million dollars in funding from University, philanthropic, government and industry partners over the next 3 years.

Normand Blais, MD, MSc

Co-founder, Groupe d’Études en Oncologie du Québec (www.geoq.com)
Chair, Thoracic Oncology Program, CHUM Cancer Center
Professor of Medicine, Université de Montréal
Current Chair, Association des médecins hématologues et oncologues du Québec.
Montréal, Quebec

Graduated from Sherbrooke University in 1990 (MD)
Residency at Sherbrooke and Montreal University – Internal med, Hematology and Medical Oncology
Sabbatical at McMaster University (MSc) in 2005 (Thrombosis in cancer)

Interests in lung cancer – clinical trials and correlative science.
Clinical research expertise in lung and bladder cancer.
Clinical and research interests in Cancer associated thrombosis.

Co-founder of the Groupe d’Études en Oncologie du Québec (www.geoq.com)
Chair of the thoracic oncology program of the CHUM Cancer center in Montreal.
Professor of Medicine, Université de Montréal
Current Chair, Association des médecins hématologues et oncologues du Québec.

Andrew J Cowan, MD

Associate Professor Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine
Hematologist, BC Cancer

Dr. Andrew Cowan is a new hematologist with the myeloma team at BC Cancer Agency. He completed his medical degree at the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle, WA, USA, followed by internal medicine residency at Boston Medical Center, in Boston MA. He then spent a year as an “Amyloid Fellow” at Boston University School of Medicine’s Amyloidosis Center, then completed hematology-oncology fellowship at the University of Washington / Fred Hutch in Seattle, WA. He remained as a faculty in multiple myeloma at UW/Fred Hutch, where he eventually became the clinical research director. His main interests include clinical research, global oncology, and informatics in oncology

Melina Deban, MDCM, FRCSC

Surgical Oncologist, Providence Health Care
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Deban is a surgical oncologist at Providence Breast Centre. She grew up in Paris and Montreal and completed medical school at McGill University. She did her general surgery training at Université de Montréal before her Surgical Oncology fellowship at University of Calgary. Dr. Deban’s professional interests include improvement in perioperative care and quality of life of patients/survivorship. She is also appointed as Clinical Assistant Professor at UBC.

Cheryl Ho, MD, FRCPC(C)

Clinical Associate Professor
University of British Columbia
Medical Oncologist
British Columbia Cancer
Vancouver, BC

Cheryl Ho, MD is a medical oncologist at BC Cancer and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia. Her clinical practice focuses on thoracic and head & neck malignancies. Dr. Ho evaluates the impact of therapies proven in clinical trials in the real world through population-based analysis. Her current focus is on developing a learning health care system with a real-world data evidence-generation framework to inform healthcare decision-makers.

Diana N. Ionescu, MD, FRCP(C), FCAP 

Consultant Pathologist BC Cancer Agency
Medical Lead Anatomical Pathology
Medical Director Cervical Cancer Screening Laboratory
Medical Director Clinical Trials, BCCA Laboratories
Clinical Professor of Pathology, University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Ionescu is a graduate of University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu” in Cluj Napoca, Romania. She completed her postgraduate training in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a Fellowship in Gynecological Pathology at Vancouver General Hospital. She has practiced as a Consultant Pathologist at BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver since 2006. She is currently a Clinical Professor of Pathology at UBC and served as the residency program director for the Anatomic Pathology Residency Program between 2009 – 2017.

Her specific areas of diagnostic expertise are lung, gynecologic and breast pathology. She is an author of over 60 scientific publications and book chapters. She is the author and invited speaker at numerous regional, national and international lectures. Her investigation interests include oncologic pathology and molecular biomarkers, lung cancer and adult health education. She is the Canadian Anatomic and Molecular Pathology (CAMP) and CAMP pathology Oncology Digital Series (CAMP-PODS) course director.

Dr. Ionescu is an enthusiastic advocate of pathologists participating in numerous patient education forums, TV shows, advocacy and fundraising campaigns, being Medical Advisor for Lung Cancer Canada, moderator, presenter and community excellence awardee at ROMPOST TV on Omni TV, and in 2015 supporting biomarker testing before the House of Commons Committee on Health.

John Kuruvilla

Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto
Hematologist, Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology,
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM)
Disease Site Group Lead, Lymphoma and Myeloma Programs
Toronto, ON

Dr. John Kuruvilla is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a hematologist in the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM) in Toronto. He is the Disease Site Group Lead for the Lymphoma and Myeloma Programs. Dr. Kuruvilla’s research interest is the development of novel therapeutics in lymphoid malignancies and incorporating translational research into clinical trials. He is the Lymphoma Co-Chair for the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) as well as the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of Lymphoma Canada.

Howard Lim, MD, PhD, FRCPC

Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine,
University of British Columbia
Medical Oncologist, BC Cancer- Vancouver
Vancouver, BC

Howard Lim is a medical oncologist at BC Cancer – Vancouver and specializes in gastrointestinal cancers. He is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Chair of the Research Ethics Board and the Co-Lead for Competency Based Medical Education for Post Graduate Medical Education. He is involved in clinical trials, genomic based research, health economics and drug access.

Dr Caroline Lohrisch, MD

Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine
University of British Columbia
Medical Oncologist, BC Cancer – Vancouver
Vancouver, BC

Dr Caroline Lohrisch trained in medical oncology at UBC after internal Medicine at McMaster University and MD degree at University of Western Ontario. She joined BC Cancer Vancouver Centre as a medical oncologist in 2001 following a Breast Cancer research fellowship in Brussles Belgium.

She is co-chair of the BCCA Breast Cancer Outcomes Unit, and a previous member of the Doctors of BC Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Working Group. She is an active investigator in clinical research, with special interest in low risk breast cancer and treatment de-escalation

She is a past chair of the BCCA Breast Cancer Systemic Therapy Committee. She was Department Head for Medical Oncology, Vancouver Cancer Centre from 2016 to 2022 and Division Head for Medical Oncology for UBC Department of Medicine from 2017 to 2020.

She has also seved on the UBC and BC Cancer Research Ethics Boards, medical oncology Residency training committee, and Priorities and Evaluation Committee. She holds the rank of Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia.

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Maisam Makarem

Medical Oncologist, BC Cancer Agency
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Maisam Makarem is a medical oncologist at the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver. She completed a thoracic oncology fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and residency training in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology at the University of Toronto. Dr. Makarem also holds a PhD in stem cell biology from the University of British Columbia. Her research interests include understanding variability in immunotherapy response and acquired resistance to targeted therapies in non-small cell lung cancer.

Justin M McGinnis, MD, MSC, FRCSC

Oncologist, Vancouver General Hospital, BC Cancer
Vancouver, BC

Dr. McGinnis is a Gynecologic Surgical Oncologist at Vancouver General Hospital and BC Cancer. He is the Quality Improvement Lead for the UBC Division of Gynaecologic Oncology, Lead of the Endometrial Oncology Integrated Practice Unit at VCH, and Program Director of the UBC Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Program.

Renelle Myers, MD, FRCPC

Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Interventional Respirologist, Vancouver General Hospital
Clinician Scientist, BC Cancer Research Institute
Lead for the BC Cancer Smoking Cessation Program
Medical Director of Bronchosocpy, VGH
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Myers is a Clinical Associate professor of Medicine at University of British Columbia and an Interventional Respirologist at Vancouver General Hospital. She is a clinicain Scientist at BC Cancer research institute as well as the lead for the BC Cancer Smoking Cessation Program and Medical Director of Bronchosocpy at VGH.

In 2020, Dr. Myers established the Myers Breathomics lab, the first clinical Breath lab in Canada, focused on the early detection of lung cancer and the effects of the environment on lung cancer through the study of volitile organic compounds in breath. Her lab works at the intersection of clinical practice, patient-centered care and analytical methodology to provide an interdisciplinary approach to advance early detection of lung cancer.

Her clinical work focuses on the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer through advanced bronchoscopic techniques.

Krista Noonan, MD

Medical Oncologist, BC Cancer, Surrey Centre
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia
BC GU Systemic Chair
Surrey, BC

Dr. Krista Noonan is a medical oncologist specializing in genitourinary and thoracic malignancies at BC Cancer, Surrey Centre and a clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia. She is the BC GU Systemic Chair. She received a BSc in Biochemistry and an MD from Memorial University, Newfoundland in 2008 followed by a residency in Internal Medicine. Dr. Noonan subsequently completed her Medical Oncology and Thoracic Oncology fellowships at the BC Cancer Vancouver, as well as a diploma in Clinical Epidemiology from Memorial University. She enjoys teaching a mentoring students and residents. Her research interests’ focus are in genitourinary and thoracic malignancies and health services research.

Guliz Ozgun, MD, FRCPC

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, UBC
Medical Oncologist, BC Cancer 
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Ozgun is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia and a medical oncologist at BC Cancer – Vancouver Centre, specializing in genitourinary and gynecologic cancers. As a clinician-scientist, her research focuses on kidney and bladder cancers, with a strong interest in precision oncology and improving patient outcomes. She is an associate member of the Vancouver Prostate Centre and actively contributes to SWOG and CCTG.

Mehrnoosh Pauls, MD

Medical Oncologist, Lions Gate Hospital
North Vancouver, BC

Dr. Mehrnoosh Pauls finished breast cancer fellow with Dr. Chia in the Division of Medical Oncology, BC Cancer, Vancouver Cancer Centre. She initially started her medical career in the Leaders of Medicine program at the University of Calgary, completing her MD/MSc in Cancer Biology in 2015. Dr. Pauls completed her internal medicine training at Dalhousie University, followed by medical oncology training at the University of Ottawa. She then worked a year at Saskatoon Cancer Center (SCA) as a full-time medical oncologist taking the role of neuroendocrine tumour site lead. During her one-year staff position, she was the primary lead oncologist for setting up the peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) program, a target molecular target therapy used to treat NET at SCA. Currently, Dr. Pauls is working as medical oncologist at Lions Gate Hospital and BC cancer North Vancouver

Andrew Pritchard, MD, FRCPC

Clinical Instructor, Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia
Radiation Oncologist, BC Cancer, Vancouver
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Andrew Pritchard is a radiation oncologist at BC Cancer Vancouver, specializing in the treatment of lung and breast cancers, as well as the use of spine SABR. Andrew completed undergraduate and medical training at the University of Western Ontario before moving west for residency in radiation oncology at the University of British Columbia and BC Cancer. He joined BC Cancer Vancouver as a clinician in early 2025 after fellowship training in Complex Radiation Oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

Srinivas Raman MD, MASc, FRCPC DRCPSC

Radiation Oncologist – Clinician Investigator, BC Cancer Vancouver
Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of Radiation Oncology, University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Srinivas Raman is a staff radiation oncologist at BC Cancer Vancouver and a clinical assistant professor in the department of radiation oncology, University of British Columbia. Srinivas previously completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering, and medical school at University of British Columbia, followed by radiation oncology residency at University of Toronto and a fellowship at BC Cancer Vancouver. His clinical and research interests include evaluation of new radiotherapy techniques for prostate, bladder and kidney cancers, and applications of artificial intelligence to automate radiotherapy workflows and improve patient care.

David Scott, MBChB PhD

Clinician-Scientist
Clinical Director of the Centre for Lymphoid Cancer, BC Cancer
Professor, University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC

David Scott is a clinician-scientist at BC Cancer in Vancouver, Canada, where he is also the Clinical Director of the Centre for Lymphoid Cancer and a professor at the University of British Columbia. He obtained his medical degree and PhD at the University of Auckland followed by fellowship training in hematology in Auckland, prior to moving to Vancouver. His laboratory focusses on the classification of aggressive B-cell lymphoma, mechanisms of treatment resistance and development of diagnostic assays that can be deployed on routine pathology biopsies. He is a scientific advisory board member for the Lymphoma Research Foundation, a member of the Lymphoma/Leukemia Molecular Profiling Project and Lunenburg Lymphoma Biomarker Consortium and the translational co-chair of the lymphoma committee for ECOG.

Joao Paulo Solar Vasconcelos

Clinical Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia
Medical Oncologist, BC Cancer – Vancouver Centre
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Joao Paulo Solar Vasconcelos is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia and a medical oncologist at BC Cancer – Vancouver Centre, specializing in gastrointestinal cancers. He completed his medical training and oncology specialization in Brazil, followed by a GI oncology fellowship and a Master of Science in Experimental Medicine at UBC. His research work focuses on biomarker development and clinical trials in gastrointestinal malignancies.

Anna Tinker, MD, FRCPC

Medical Oncologist, BC Cancer- Vancouver
Clinical Associate Professor, Division of Medical Oncology, UBC
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Anna Tinker is a Medical Oncologist at BC Cancer- Vancouver and a Clinical Associate Professor at UBC, Division of Medical Oncology. Her clinical expertise is in the treatment of women with gynecologic cancers. She is the co-chair of the Ovarian Cancer Working Group for the Canadian Clinical Trials Group, is the BC Provincial Gynecologic Cancer Tumour Group Chair, Vice-Chair for the BC Cancer Research Ethics Board and Vice-Chair for the BC Cancer Medical Advisory Board.

Christopher Venner, MD, FRCPC

Clinical Lead, BC Myeloma and Plasma Cell Dyscrasias Program (BCMPP),
BC Cancer – Vancouver Centre
Co-Chair, Myeloma Sub-Committee, Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG)
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Venner completed his medical training at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta. He then pursued a sub-specialty degree in Hematology at the University of British Columbia. Following this, he completed a Plasma Cell Dyscrasias Fellowship through a joint program with the Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program of British Columbia, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, and the National Amyloidosis Centre in the UK. He then returned to Edmonton, joining the Cross Cancer Institute, where he led the Malignant Hematology Program and the Myeloma/Plasma Cell Dyscrasias Group. In 2021, he joined BC Cancer – Vancouver Centre as the Clinical Lead for the BC Myeloma and Plasma Cell Dyscrasias Program (BCMPP). In addition to his involvement in hematology clinical trials, his current academic interests include clinical outcomes research in plasma cell dyscrasias and translational collaborations with Dr. Florian Kuchenbauer to investigate the biology and novel therapies for high-risk myeloma. Much of this work is conducted through the Canadian Myeloma Research Group, including activities within the CMRG Canadian Multiple Myeloma Database initiative and the CMRG clinical trials group. He is also the Co-Chair of the Myeloma Sub-Committee within the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG).

Alissa Wright

Clinical Associate Professor, University of British Columbia
Head of the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) Division of Infectious Disease
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Alissa Wright is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She is also the current Head of the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) Division of Infectious Disease. She has established a Transplant Infectious Disease program for the province of British Columbia for both solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. Her clinical responsibilities include the care of pre-and post-transplant patients at Vancouver General Hospital and St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. She is also a consultant for BC Transplant on infectious disease issues in organ donors and BC Cancer on infectious issues in cancer patients.

John W. Yun, MD

Medical Oncologist
Richmond Hospital
Richmond, BC

Dr. John Yun completed his medical school in the Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1988.  He completed his Internal Medicine in UBC followed by the Medical Oncology in BC Cancer completing in 1996.

He has been living and working in Richmond, BC.  He works as the community oncologist caring for patients with cancer of many common sites.